This invention relates to television systems, and more particularly, to television systems such as interactive television program guide systems having aided user program searching.
Cable, satellite, and broadcast television systems provide a large number of television channels. Typically, the number of channels provided by cable and satellite systems is over a hundred and ever increasing. Television viewers have traditionally consulted printed television program schedules to obtain programming information. More recently, interactive electronic television program guides have been developed to allow television program information to be displayed on viewer television equipment.
Interactive electronic television program guides (Aprogram guides@) typically provide program listings of all channels available in the television system. Some program guides include features for allowing users to scan through channel information or programs in order to select a program to access.
As detailed in Knee et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,892, a program guide may include browse and flip for user program searching. The browse feature presents a browse overlay region on the user=s television screen that contains a program listing. The user may use up and down arrow keys take action from a user input interface device to direct the browse overlay to scan the listings on other channels while remaining tuned to the current channel. This allows the user to browse available program listings without missing any of the program on the current channel. The flip feature presents a flip overlay region on the user=s television screen that contains a program listing. The user may flip through these listings. As the user changes channels, the program listing in the flip display region is updated to match the program on the current channel. With either the browse or flip feature, finding a suitable program for viewing may require scanning through individual program listings for numerous channels. Scanning through such a large number of channels to find a suitable program for viewing may be time-consuming and cumbersome.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a television system that monitors a user=s television viewing activity and suggests programs for the user to view.
Is it also an object of the present invention to provide a television system that displays suggested program listings and that allows the user to browse the suggested program listings using an adaptive browse feature.
It is also a further object of the present invention to provide a television system that displays suggested program listings and that allows the user to flip through the suggested listings using an adaptive flip feature.